Stuttgart, Germany Hotels and City Guide

Stuttgart - Attractions

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Capital of the Swabians and state capital of Baden-Württemberg (one of Germany's richest regions), Stuttgart is nestled in the steeply rising slopes of the River Neckar valley. The economic and cultural focus of the region, it is home to industries such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche cars and Zeiss optical equipment and to the world-famous Stuttgart Ballet, State Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra. Landing at Stuttgart International Airport, the varied landscape of mountains, forest and vineyards extends into the city, where two-thirds of the land is kept as parks, gardens, and woodland; with twenty percent under a land preservation order.

Mineral spas in the Bad Cannstatt district are Western Europe's largest, producing more than 22 million litres of mineral water each day, whilst Stuttgart's mild climate makes it one of Germany's leading fruit and wine producing regions. Stuttgart is also an ideal base for excursions to the Black Forest, the Swabian Albs and Lake Constance, with Switzerland, Austria and France only a two to three hours drive.

Stuttgart Attractions

Mercedes-Benz Museum
Mercedesstraße 136, 70322 Stuttgart-Unterturkheim
Tel: +49 71 1172 2578

Housing around 100 lovingly preserved cars (including the first car ever built), the museum traces the history of the automobile from its beginning in 1886 to the latest technological innovations. For enthusiasts, Mercedes-Benz also conducts tours of their factories and classic car workshops. Entry to the museum is free. Factory tours by appointment.

Wilhelma Gardens
Neckartalstraße, S-Bahn- take S 1-3 (Bad Cannstatt), 70376 Stuttgart

Created for King Wilhelm I of Württemberg between 1842 and 1853 as a Mauritian garden, the Wilhelma is Germany's only zoological-botanical garden. Home to more than 8000 animals of 1000 different species living in sympathetically designed enclosures, it also has world-class collections of coral fish, orchids and a petting zoo for younger children. The animal houses remain open for one hour after the last admission time.

Television Tower
Reachable via the Hohenheimer Strasse, 70597 Stuttgart

Built between 1954 and 1956, the 217 metre-high (710 feet) Television Tower was the first of its kind to be built of reinforced concrete. The viewing platform at 150 metres (490 feet) above street level offers an unprecedented view of the city and suburbs. There is a restaurant near the viewing platform and another at the base of the tower.

Konigstrasse
Stuttgart

The one kilometre-long pedestrianized Königstrasse extends from the central station to Schulstrasse (which became the first pedestrian-only zones in Germany in 1953) and is an enchanting concourse for sophisticated shopping. Department stores, speciality shops and cafés are interspersed with tranquil leafy areas where street artists from around the world perform concerts and open-air plays.

Schlossplatz
Schlossplatz is by Konigstraße., Stuttgart

Known as the Royal Square or Castle Square, Schlossplatz is surrounded by impressive Renaissance and neo-classical palaces, fountains, statues and sculpture. The Jubilee Column was erected in 1841 to celebrate the silver jubilee of King Wilhelm I, whilst 'Concordia' by Hofer and two fountains date from 1863. Other works are located in the pedestrianised Kleiner Schlossplatz. The Palace is now home to the Württemberg State Museum and hosts summer concerts, theatre performances and a Christmas Market in the impressive Inner Courtyard.The baroque New Palace (Neues Schloss), built between 1746 and 1807 and rebuilt between 1958 and 1968, is now occupied by representatives of the State Parliament, the Inland Revenue and Cultural Ministries. Königsbau is a neo-classical column style building with a 135 meter-long colonnade. Built between 1856 and 1860, it was rebuilt in 1958 and has been the seat of Baden-Württemberg's Stock Exchange since 1991.

State Gallery
Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 30-32, 70178 Stuttgart

Comprising the Old State Gallery and the New State Gallery, exhibits range from the Middle Ages to the post-modern. The Old Gallery, built between 1838 and 1843, houses works produced up to the end of the nineteenth century including old German, Italian, Dutch and Impressionist. The New gallery, constructed between 1979 and 1984, is recognised as one of the best examples of post-modern architecture. Its collection covers work by twentieth century artists including Matisse, Beuys and Pollock and includes one of the world's largest Picasso collections.

Gottlieb Daimler Memorial Workshop
Taubenheimstraße 13, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt
Tel: +49 71 1172 2578

The site where the first internal combustion engine was built in 1883, the Daimler-Gedachtnisstatte contains tools, blueprints and models from the century-long history of Mercedes.

Porsche Museum
Porschestraße 24, 70435 Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen
Tel: +49 71 8275 685

Situated next to the Porsche factory, five miles from the city centre, the museum is dedicated to the one million Porsche sports cars built since 1948. It has a wealth of classic production and racing Porsches on display, as well as new models and prototypes that never went into production. The company also offers a one-and-a-half hour factory tour (in English or German) at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm each day, which follows the production process right through to the paint shop with its choice of 2000 custom colours and the rigorous testing of each new 911 engine. Reservations required for the tour.

Linden Museum
Hegelplatz 1, 70174 Stuttgart
Tel: +49 71 1202 2456

Founded in 1884, the collection of the Linden, the German Museum of Ethnology, spans every continent. Regular special exhibitions are accompanied by a supporting programme of lectures and films.

Hotels in Stuttgart, Germany